Talk:Watch Out Now/@comment-3575890-20150430035052
PLL has the most beautifully complex couples, morally and dynamically. Perhaps the most problematic and complicated pairing, and also the most beloved for those reasons, it goes without saying that Spoby have the darkest and most angsty love story. From day one, there was palpable tension between them. They hated each other with a burning passion, which turned into an earth-shattering love of equal magnitude. But there were so many pitfalls along the way; the most notorious being Toby's transition to the dark side - or so it seemed. While it turned out he only infiltrated the A Team to get the intel to protect Spencer, he essentially was still an A Team member that played a role in Spencer's downward spiral into madness. He literally drove her insane with grief. For them to get past that alone, is the ultimate testament of an everlasting always prevailing love. Ezria were problematic from day one. Between the significant age gap and their contraband relationship, Ezra was also sponging off Aria the whole time without her being any the wiser. He set up their meeting from day one, and everything that occurred thereafter had been planned by him well in advance. But along the way, he fell in love with her. The power scale inverted, and the player became the pawn - completely powerless in his own game. Although their entire relationship was built upon one catacalysmic lie, what they had was the most real, rawest feeling they'd respectively ever felt for anyone. It's no question that Hanna and Caleb have the healthiest, most stable relationship of all the others on the show. In fact, they have a generally healthy relationship outside of the power ships circle. They come pretty close to fitting the idealistic picturesque romance that fairytales are made of. But they weren't always flawless. A little like Ezria, but not as extreme, Caleb was using Hanna - moreover spying on her and reporting back to her enemy all for personal profit. Not long after though he came clean, and after proving his love and loyalty to Hanna, she was able to forgive him where they'd then proceed to develop a deep, emotionally resonating bond beyond what either of them could ever have imagined. If Spoby isn't the most problematic ship, Emison definitely is. Their problems actually predate the series and begin on very rocky grounds. I can quite understand why a lot of people can't get behind Emison because of the toxicity, but relatively speaking, they're no more problematic than the others in how they began. There's no excuse whatsoever for Ali's abusive treatment of Emily, but there's also a deeper psychology behind it than Ali simply using Emily as her punching bag to make herself feel powerful in a point in time that she felt powerless and afraid. Ali's deep-seated trust and intimacy issues definitely played a role in her shoddy treatment of Emily, and it essentially took her having to lose Emily all together, for her to realize the depth of her feelings for Emily. The both of them have grown since the days of Ali's power plays and Emily being her doormat. Whereas before their contrasting personalities brought out their weaknesses, they now bring out their respective strengths. Emily softens Ali's harsh edges and Ali challenges Emily and pushes all of her buttons that bring out a fierceness in Emily - one of the few things that can actually stabilize Ali. Their history is complicated and problematic, but their hypothetical future together is full of potential and room for them both to continue to grow. These ships, with their long-standing history, complexities, and controversies, are undoubtedly the four main power couples of the series. Each Liar has been assigned a soulmate whom they are likely to have a satisfying endgame with when the series comes to an end. Spencer's is Toby, Aria's is Ezra, Hanna's is Caleb, and while Emily has had three lovers, each of which could qualify as a soulmate, Ali has always been the one at the forefront of her mind and at the centre of her heart.